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The Oklahoman endorsement: Mitt Romney is best man to restore nation's greatness

Oklahoman
Published: December 18, 2011

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In 2008, we were among the voices of the Heartland that warned of the perils of a Barack Obama presidency. These were voices crying in the wilderness. County by county, until all 77 were included, Oklahomans rejected the rhetoric of hope and change peddled by Obama.

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2011, photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gestures during a campaign stop with mill workers at the Madison Lumber Mill in Madison, N.H. Romney is starting to open up. For the past year, the former Massachusetts governor has emphasized his business background as he argued that he should be president because he understands the economy and can fix it to help millions of out-of-work Americans. But Romney, a multimillionaire many times over who critics call robotic, has struggled to connect with average people on the campaign trail. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Voices of common sense, not anger and entitlement, spring from the Heartland. We must raise our voice again because America is in trouble. We stand and watch as our country plummets deeper into polarization. We are divided by a divisive president — Republicans and Democrats, wealthy and poor, employed and unemployed.

We in the Heartland wait and watch as the Republican debates rage on — as if we will all text in our votes and pick a winner to stay on the island. This must stop! It is maddening to those of us with strong conservative convictions in the middle of the country. It is enabling Obama to fatten what is already the plumpest campaign war chest in history while the Republicans drain their resources battling each other.

We believe in the primary system, but even a good system can be detrimental when carried too far. To unseat the incumbent, we need total focus on November, not sideshow politics that will dilute the Republican efforts.

Stop inane bashing

Today we call on those in the Heartland to stand united. Let's put a stop to the inane bashing going on in the Republican presidential race. Let's unite behind a man who can beat Obama and let's do it sooner rather than later.

That man is Mitt Romney.

The Heartland states contribute significantly to America's greatness. We must contribute to the restoration of that greatness. This is where the unemployment rate is among the lowest in America, where religion and family values still matter, where people work hard to earn a living and aren't focused on government handouts and entitlements. This is home to some of the largest military installations in the country, a place where men and women in uniform are respected.

The reddest of the red states stand on a high moral ground. They are not mired in the estuaries of bicoastal elitism. We matter and we must make our voices heard.

This isn't about pride. It's about putting a new president in office to lead this country back to its once powerful world position. It is time to get serious about the current and future well-being of the country.

We cannot let a bad president with a bad record walk into a second term because the Republican Party couldn't unite around a candidate who is not only electable but capable of leading, uniting and governing America.

That leader is Mitt Romney.

Newt Gingrich, a skilled orator who isn't short on intellect or ideas and who has won against the Democrats in the past, is not the man who can wrestle a second term away from our current president. Mitt Romney can. A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows Obama with a 51-40 lead over Gingrich. That same poll shows Romney just two points away from the president, 47-45, which is within the margin of error. Over time, the Gingrich spread will widen while the Romney difference, if he is allowed to focus on November, will shrink and overtake the incumbent.

Aligns with our values

Romney aligns with our values in Oklahoma and throughout the Heartland. He made that clear in a Dec. 7 meeting with members of the editorial boards of The Oklahoman and The Washington Examiner.

Romney brings hands-on experience and pragmatism. He's been criticized for changing his opinions through the years on some serious issues. But with years and life experience come wisdom, which can lead to a closer look and a change of opinion. Who among us has not evolved as a person as the years mount?

Obama's lack of experience and his lack of wisdom have plagued us since he took office. He simply did not have the skills to be president. Simply put, his only real-life accomplishment was positioning himself, through well-orchestrated charisma, to be elected president. He flutters from speech to speech, proposal to proposal, always touting a paternalism steeped in the transfer of wealth from successful taxpayers to tax consumers.

Instead of reforming the entitlement system, he would extend its size and reach with Obamacare and perpetual unemployment compensation.

Instead of helping the poor by stimulating private sector jobs, his administration helps keep them poor. The middle class has shrunk on his watch. If the Environmental Protection Agency's mandate to reduce regional haze is allowed to stand, it will dramatically increase electric bills for the poorest utility customers. A Romney EPA would not do that.

We need a president who doesn't sacrifice fossil fuels on the altar of wishful thinking. Oklahomans get this. Obama does not. He's paid lip service to expanding markets for domestic natural gas. He's paid debt service to expanding ventures such as Solyndra.

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by The Oklahoman Editorial Board

The Oklahoman Editorial Board consists of Gary Pierson, President and CEO of The Oklahoma Publishing Company; Christopher P. Reen, president and publisher of The Oklahoman; Kelly Dyer Fry, editor and vice president of news; Christy Gaylord...